Charith Asalanka pitches for batting-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka

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Two fits down and two fits the workforce batting first has scored over 300. This is not commonplace in Sri Lanka, and for it to occur in consecutive video games is even rarer – in truth, there were handiest 10 cases throughout 358 ODIs in Sri Lanka, previous to this collection, the place two consecutive video games have noticed a ranking of 300 or extra.

In relation to video games the place 350 or extra runs had been scored through the workforce batting first, Sri Lanka’s 381 within the first ODI was once the primary such ranking since 2018 – in overall there were simply 9 such ratings on Lankan soil, and handiest 4 of the ones belong to Sri Lanka.

Against this, ultimate yr’s Global Cup by myself noticed 13 totals of 350-plus – there have been 24 such totals in each and every different Global Cup mixed. Suffice to mention, that is transparent indicator wherein path the sport is heading, a minimum of on the subject of what batters are increasingly more able to.

And now, after all, Sri Lanka appears to be catching up – or a minimum of that is the hope, after the primary two high-scoring surfaces presented up at Pallekele.

“We have been most often used to pitches the place scoring greater than 300 was once a problem. But when we take the pitches we’ve got performed on [in] this collection up to now, the ones issues appear to have been addressed to a big extent.”

And certainly they’ve. Whilst the surfaces in Colombo for ultimate month’s collection towards Zimbabwe have been nonetheless of the slower selection, the house crowds in Pallekele had been witness to uncommon high-scoring affairs. And after Afghanistan’s stirring chase within the first ODI – the place they fell quick through 42 runs, however nonetheless controlled to file their perfect ever ODI overall – they may had been in line for some other on Sunday night time however have been denied through a cave in of epic proportions wherein they went from 128 for 1 to 153 all out.

That was once right down to a disciplined effort through the Sri Lankan bowlers, who caught to their plans of holding issues tight, letting the specified fee upward thrust, after which selecting up wickets when Afghanistan have been pressured to boost up. And Asalanka is acutely conscious that bowling extra on such pitches is a boon now not only for their batters, however for the bowlers as neatly.

“Even nowadays, they [Afghanistan] have been in a just right position on the subject of their batting however as they have been looking to boost up I believe we bowled neatly to get them out. However that is how pitches wish to be, as a result of once we cross to play global event[s] we are most often going to get wickets the place you wish to have to attain greater than 300.

“So in an effort to do this we wish to have practised in our house stipulations. If we do extra of that then it is going to be more straightforward for us to compete in ICC tournaments. Greater than that I believe even our bowlers are beginning to discover ways to bowl on just right batting wickets.”

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